1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of two-wheeled carts for transporting a golf bag or similar load. The cart of the present invention is not self-powered, and ordinarily would be pushed or pulled by a human operator.
2. The Prior Art
The present invention will ordinarily be used by golfers to carry a golf bag containing golf clubs, golf balls, tees, towels, and other paraphernalia related to the game. These items add to the tare of the bag, with the result that a fully-loaded bag could weigh about thirty pounds. Because of this weight, many golfers choose to strap the golf bag to a two-wheeled cart which is pushed or pulled about the golf course.
Such carts are generally known, but the present invention has structural features that render it exceptional.
The golf cart of the present invention is collapsible to roughly a third of its size for convenient storage and handling. This is made possible by its ingenious telescoping A-frame structure. Nonetheless, the cart is surprisingly rigid and has adequate strength to carry the largest and heaviest golf bags.
Unlike known golf carts, the cart of the present invention employs a unique gravity-assisted swinging stand that makes it easy to park and to resume travel after having been parked. The operation of the stand is so intuitive that it quickly becomes automatic to the user.
Because golfers traverse large open fields, they may be exposed to the hazard of being struck by lightning. For this reason, the golf cart of the present invention is provided with a removable telescoping lightning rod. If caught in the open by a sudden lightning storm, the golfer can readily erect the lightning rod. The effectiveness of the lightning rod is enhanced by the grounding action of the swinging stand.
Finally, the wheels of the golf cart are retained to their axles by quick-release skewers that permit the wheels to be quickly removed for ease of handling and storage and to permit other wheels to be substituted.
Because the golf cart of the present invention is so unusual, it was not surprising that a search of the prior art failed to discover anything similar.
The closest prior art is believed to be U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,695 issued Jan. 21, 1975 to Shourek et al. They show a cart having left and right telescoping members and arms pivotally attached to the lower portion of those members to permit the arms to be swung from a forwardly extending position upwardly to a position adjacent the telescoping member. The left and right telescoping members are interconnected by jointed jack-knifing cross members that extend as the telescoping members are drawn apart laterally. The cross members keep the telescoping members parallel at all times as they are being drawn from their collapsed configuration to their extended configuration. In order to achieve this, the cross members must necessarily be able to pivot with respect to the telescoping members. Accordingly, the cart must be somewhat lacking in rigidity, a problem which the present invention solves through the use of a more robust A-frame structure.
Also, in the cart of Sourek et al., when the arms are folded up, they assume a position adjacent the lower sections of the telescoping members. In contrast, in the present invention, the arms fold into the lower section of the telescoping members, where they remain concealed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,653 issued Nov. 5, 1991 to Deglis et al. might also arguably be relevant. That patent shows a recreational cart having left and right telescoping members and two wheels. This cart can be distinguished from the present invention by the fact that the telescoping arms remain parallel at all times, and the wheel axles are connected by the body of the cart and thus cannot be separated laterally as in the cart of the present invention.
The present inventor has aspired to invent a collapsible golf cart having a minimal structure so as to provide the required strength and rigidly with minimum weight. In its collapsed condition, the cart of the present invention has an aesthetically-pleasing shape and is convenient to carry and handle.